The Suits and Boots of Corporate and Financial (Edelman)

And so in comes rotation number five out of six and boy was this the fastest one yet! They always say time flies when you’re having fun. The team, the variety of work and the level of work all made the five weeks feel like one – qualities a graduate can only wish for in the hope of gaining an informative and true insight into the world of Corporate and Financial.

It seems people always talk about Corporate and Financial as ‘the serious one’ with employees marching about in their suits and boots. ‘Boring’ even, when compared to ‘sexy’ consumer PR. Oh how wrong they are! Professional, yes. Intelligent, yes. Creative, yes. Varied, yes. Boring, er no. Try meeting the Mayor Boris Johnson, award ceremonies, b2b and b2c liaison, issues and crisis management and corporate social responsibility platforms, to name all but a few jobs I was involved in. You can already get a feel for the diversity in tasks.

So what about the people? I must point out you are among some truly talented folk brimming with experience and innovation. Specialists even include former journalists in the Strategic Media Unit, from a former anchor woman to a FT regular. Corporate and Financial further boasts of excellent cross practice relationships with Public Affairs, Digital and Consumer – something which was interesting for me to relate to having already rotated around each of the named departments. I was able to work on Levi’s®, Starbucks, Diageo, Shell and Manchester City FC accounts, all of which I had previous experience in.

The thing which really stood out for me during this rotation was the responsibility I was given. Thanks to the lovely Property team I was able to interview clients for features in the Daily Telegraph and Country Life magazine; create a press pack for the opening of the Winter Garden at Battersea Park by directly liaising with my client Douglas & Gordan and the Mayor’s press office; attend the launch of the Garden whereby meeting good old Boris Johnson; and then watch the coverage I generated appear. A great project to be a part of and see through.

From gardens to oil! Shell is evidently a global giant, forever expanding. My first week saw a jump in at researching speaker platforms for reputable climate change conferences. An opportunity to grasp the importance of such events, and working to a tight deadline with the project being reviewed by a Deputy MD, a challenge to rise to. This learning curve was also experienced when looking into Corporate Social Responsibly platforms for Diageo. CSR being the buzz word, this task gave me the chance to actually understand its significance to a company’s reputation and therefore progression.

Oil to Visit London! With an exciting campaign in the horizon (check out the Evening Standard 1^st April 2011), Visit London roles involved outreaching to the stars of London to help promote our fabulous city internationally. Liaising with agents and sometimes the talent themselves, I was able to really understand how an ambassador can raise the profile of your campaign.

I could go on praising both the work and team, but for fear of babbling I’ll leave it here. There’s only one thing left to say which is thank you. I shall miss the power ballads, the banter and of course the work. Thank you Corp&Fin for giving me a true and inspiring insight into your world. 

For more information check out their website and my blog.